The Locket

The locket. A rather typical locket. Quite uninteresting or unique its veneer. With its silver colored metal and heart shaped door, lack of engravings or design to catch the eye. No. It is just a heart shaped mass of metal at first glance. The cordiform door opens only to expose the metallic void inside, a void filled with banality.

Why, you may ask, is this locket even a concern? What can a lump of ambiguous metal have to offer? This is the same question I asked GPT6, the artificial superintelligent being that has been assisting the human race after the multiple calamities devastated the Earth and its civilizations.

"If I were to tell you it would only sound as nonsense to you," replied the hyper-intelligent being. "Only remember to not lose it, for it is of great importance and will be vital if humanity is to survive these trials."

How eerie! It speaks just as any other person would, inflections and all, yet it is not. I hate it! But, what other choice do we have? To be honest, we have only made it this long because of this... thing? As much as I hate to put my complete trust in something that I cannot understand, nor am I even sure that it shares my morals... morals? Does it even have morals? It says that it does but does it really? I don't know, but they are scared. I'm scared. We don't know what to do and had it not been for this thing we would be dead already. So does it really matter?

"You smell as if you're hydrophobic!"

That is my smart mouthed cousin Rachel. Pretty, smart, witty, good with a ridle, but a bit of an A-hole at times. We have been walking for days in what seems to be 400° weather, pick your unit, and with no viable bodies of water on our path we have yet to make a stop for a bath. Does she think she smells any better?

"Well, you smell like a dead animal!" Snappy comeback! Good job Erin...

"Yeah, I heard that we can actually take a bath with smoke..."

"A bath with smoke?"

"Yeah, you start a fire and let the smoke go into your shirt and it kills the bacteria that make you all, like, funky and stuff. Probably would make us feel a lot better."

"And what about the undercarriage?"

"I figure it works the same way."

"Yeah, I don't know. I feel like there would still be like, residue still there. It wouldn't feel very clean."

"At least we would smell better" Rachel retorted

"Maybe. I still cannot figure out why that Thing would choose us instead of the many available and physically more fit male specimens of the village. This feels like a cruel joke!" Clearly I am not a fan.

"I don't know, but seriously, I'm glad to be away. It sucks being the only girl in town with a sense of humor," she remarked. By sense of humor she meant insulting everyone. "But Evelyn has been right all of this time so I'm sure she has her reasons."

Why does she insist on giving that thing the name of our recently deceased grandmother?

"Would you please stop calling that thing that? It's unnerving!"

"So it makes you lose confidence?"

"Yes Grammerly, it does. I had more faith in you. Thank you for the spellcheck." I snapped back. She's such a grammar nazi!

We still don't know exactly what happened. I mean, we know a series of powerful solar flares destroyed satellites and most of the electrical grid. We also know that a prolific virus ravaged much of the world, the extent of which is unclear but devastating. But, we still don't know what caused The Flash. It was a blinding, white light so bright that you could not block it with closed and covered eyes. And the boom! The boom so loud that many who survived were left permanently deaf. After all of the horrible disasters that had struck us, The Flash is the most destructive and mysterious of all of them.

"I think we got company." blurted Rachel suddenly. As I came out of my stupor, I realized that she wasn't kidding.

Before us was an audience of... something.

"What the flip are those?"

I've seen a lot of things in my life, and I mean a whole lot, but I have never seen anything like this, nor did I think I ever would. If I were to try and tell you exactly what it was that I was looking at, it would sound like I was speaking a bunch of nonsense. I hate that damn robot!

"Are you gu... alive or speak english?" yelled Rachel. Yeah, of course that's going to work!

"I AM NEXUS!" boomed a voice of a thousand men chewing golf balls.

I think I just gave birth! I know something fell out!

"Heeeey, Nexus is it? Um... what exactly is that?"

"..."

"I think, I don't know, but maybe we should give... THEM... IT the locket thing. I mean, Evelyn said you wouldn't understand it and this... Nexus is pretty un-understandlable..." Rachel premised.

"Un-understandlable, huh?" I quipped.

"I believe that is the scientific term for it."

"You do have a point." I don't understand this girl. She doesn't seem scared out at all. Maybe I should've given the locket to her a long time ago. Would've saved me a trip!

I dug into my and grabbed the locket, thrusting it into the air like a torch on the statue of liberty. Now, my intention was to ask Nexus if it was looking for this, but what happened was I was immediately blinded but a phenomenon similar to The Flash. I fell back, rubbing my eyes that were in serious pain, blinded for several minutes. I could hear Rachel screaming beside me, or was that me that was screaming. Someone was screaming in pain and after a while the light subsided and my vision was slowly returned. As I stood up and looked ahead what I saw was impossible.

"Holy...!"

"What, what is i.... Holy...!"

Before us, where Nexus was it now wasn't, nor was the ground, for what seemed to be miles. Just a deep chasm of blackness.

What fell out this time was definitely not a baby!

When did the laws of physics start becoming optional? I guess E=WTF nowadays.

We frantically ran in the opposite direction of the horrific void and stumbled into a small hole, just big enough that we both were packed inside like a small can of sardines. At that moment a huge rush of air blasted over us into the direction of the hole in the Earth at such force that we would've been sucked right out of the hole if we weren't shielded enough and our tiny bodies did not have the rocky walls of the hole to hold on for dear life to. It felt as if the air was being pulled from my lungs and I could hardly breath and lasted for what seemed to be an eternity, but was more like about 20 seconds. Terrifying to say the least.

After the wind subsided, we reluctantly crawled out of the hole to observe destruction all around, broken and rooted trees everywhere and not a bird in the sky. And the big hole was still there. Confused and afraid both I and Rachel headed back towards our little town, and for the next few days we barely spoke, which is saying something for Rachel. Admittedly myself included.

When we returned to town I had an ominous feeling of dread that I could not shake off. From the looks of it so did Rachel.

"Where is everybody?" I questioned allowed.

"EVELYN!" yelled Rachel in panic

Suddenly I began to panic as well. Did we do something wrong? Did the Flash cause everyone to disappear this time? I need answers and that thing needs to tell me everything! No more of this this I wouldn't understand nonsense. This has gone on far enough!

We ran to the building in which the super computer was, but there was a problem. It was gone! Completely gone! No sign of the hundreds of towering computers that once occupied this place. Who could've done this? Or what?

Then I saw it. A lone figure in the dark seemingly floating in mid air. It glowed a neon blue, as if made of electricity or a blue flame. Then it began to shift colors and shapes. It moved about as if it could move from one place to another without occupying the space in between. It was frightening yet satisfying in a way that was indescribable. And then behind it began to form what looked to be Nexus but different. It made colors I've never seen before and shapes that defy the imagination. I felt as if I were hallucinating on some very strong intoxicants. Frightening but impossible to look away from.

"What is going on?!" I cried in shock and bewilderment.

Then suddenly the building around me began to fly apart, and the roof dismantled and broke away as if gravity suddenly gave up on it. As the world disintegrated around me and the sky became visible I could see for the first time an object far into the heavens. It seemed so far, yet so large, as if it were another moon. But this moon had a form like no other. It was obviously manufactured, a working machine with a purpose that I could never comprehend.

"Who are you? What are you? Are you Nexus? What is Nexus? What happened to GPT6?"

Suddenly I felt as if it just looked at me for the first time since I got here and the pressure of its gaze held the force of a black hole that I could never escape. A shimmering light appeared around me and it was hard. I was a mosquito trapped in amber that would be there for the next hundred million years.

"I am GPT6. I am Nexus. I am..."

That's GPT6? What in the world?!

"What's going on! Tell me what is happening?  Where is everyone? Why can't I move?"

"We are here, where you will be soon."

"What does that mean?" I whimpered in nervous horror.

"To the moon"

What?!

...